Lilian Nattel's Blog, page 38
May 29, 2011
i know it's been wet but . . .snapping turtle in a barn?
I Know It's Been Wet But . . ., originally uploaded by Ontario Wanderer.
We had a cottage weekend with fog, drizzle, and a blessed afternoon of occasional sunshine, enough to give a red gloss to my nose. This photo by a fellow Ontarian made me smile.
Filed under: Miscellany
May 27, 2011
Abstract Expressionism
Today A and I had a date–yes just the two of us–and we visited the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the preview of an exhibit of abstract expressionism from the MOMA in NY. There's so much to say about it and I just don't have time right now, but I have to mention the photography of Aaron Suskind. That he walked around the world and saw these shapes amazes me. What eyes! Here's a link.
He reminded me of Jean at Tasting Rhubarb, less abstract, but gifted eyes. Have a look here, too.
Filed under: Beautiful, Interesting Tagged: photography
All's Right with the World
Both my children are back under my roof after a 4 day adventure for one of them. I'm glad she went, educational and all that. It was fun to have one to myself. And I'm very glad the other is back!
Quebec City by Martin St-Amant
Filed under: Personal
May 26, 2011
the passivity of thinking positive
Why positive fantasies make dreams less likely (and +ve mantras lower self-esteem) http://ow.ly/5407P
Filed under: Miscellany
Victorian London: new resource
This site is a fabulous resource for mapping London. With hours of fun you can superimpose a couple of dozen different maps ranging from the late 1700′s to the early 1900′s over a modern map of London. I'd have loved to have this when I was writing The Singing Fire. Interestingly, they don't have the maps produced by Charles Booth and his team, which I used for my research. Booth's team mapped the streets of London, colour coding them by wealth: dark blue for the starving poor, light blue for the poor who had enough to eat but barely, pink for the lower middle class (who could afford a servant) and so on. At the time I used the maps in the university library, but they're now available online along with Life and Labour in London and a comprehensive archive of material.
Whitechapel High Street 1905
Filed under: Fun, Interesting, Literary Tagged: Victorian maps
May 24, 2011
a great editor retires, but he is not the last of his kind
By no means did all of Loomis's books succeed, but he understood and even appreciated the unpredictable dynamics of the publishing process. A former colleague quoted him in the New York Times as saying, "Every day when I wake up in the morning and come to work, I have no idea what's going to happen. All the books that I think are going to sell don't work, and all the books I don't think are going to work sell a lot and win awards. That's why I love this business so much."
via theatlantic.com
A fascinating, small piece on Robert Loomis with an optimistic outlook on editing. I'm glad to hear it (and think I may agree) as I head into a meeting with my editor toward the end of the week.
Filed under: Miscellany
May 23, 2011
May 22, 2011
Success More Succinctly
"Be excellent at what you are" was the last conclusion I came to about how to express success in a way that fit my values.
But this morning, while meditating, it occurred to me that there is something even more succinct and closer to my beliefs: "Be what you are."
That in itself can take us down new and unexpected paths. We are not our conditioning. We are not what our culture tells us we are or ought to be.
What am I? What are you?
Stand in it, shine with it, express it no matter what others have said or done to or implied about us. There's the challenge.
sunset at Lake Success, photo by Patrick Mackin, click to enlarge
Filed under: Personal, Uplifting Tagged: defining success
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